Improvement in sewing-machines



2 SheetsSheet 1. S. S; TURNER. SEWING MACHINE. No. 11.588. Patented Aug. 22, 1854.

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S. S. TURNER.

SEWING MACHINE.

Patented Aug. 22; 1854.

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w: mums PEYERS co. mow-urns WASHXNGYON. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

I SIDNEY s. TURNER, or WESTBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR r0 ELMER TOWNSEND.

IMPROVEMENT I NYSEWING-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. [1.688, dated August 2, 1851- by declare that the same isfully described and represented in the following specification and tlie'accompanying.drawings, letters, fig

ures, and references thereof.

Of the said drawings, Figure 1 represents a top view, and Fig. 2.a side elevation, of my improved sewing-machine. Fig. 3 is a vertical central and longitudinal section of it. Fig.

. 4 is a side view of the needle-carrier and needle. In Fig. 2 I have represented certain parts of the frame as broken away or removed, .in order to show more clearly sundry parts of the mechanism, to be hereinafter described, and which would otherwise be hidden.

In the said drawings, A represents the hookneedle, which is a needle formed with a point and'a hook inthe rear of or below the point, as Seen in Fig. 4. This needle is fastened in the top and in the line of the axis of a cylindric carrier, B, which plays vertically upward and downward through acylindrical passage, 0, in an adjustable arm, D, which projects from and is-fastened to the under 'side of the table E of themachine; The carrier'B is provided with a groove, a b c, which from a to b is made straight, while from b to c it is helical. There may be anothersuch groove formed on the opposite side of the carrier. There is a screw or pin, E, extended through the adjustable arm D and into the groove a b c, the object of such pin and groove being to produce a semi-revolution 'of the hook-needle immediately after-i t has been drawn downward through the cloth or material sewed, and it per-forms this particular half rotation of the needle during the descent of the needle. During the first portion of the ascent of the needle, and

before it reaches the'cloth, it is rotated" backward a semi-revolution, such return movement being produced" by the helical part b c of the groove (1. b 0. These peculiar movements of the needle, in connection with its vertical movements, by which it is forced through and drawn out of the cloth, enable the needle to perform the operation of sewing the chain- Stitch. without having any slide applied to it for closing its barb'or hook, such slide or some analogous contrivance being generally used in the chain-stitch sewing-machine. liar object of rotating the needle during its vertical movements will be hereinafter more The pecuparticularly described. Such vertical movements of the needle are directly produced by means of a lever, G, and indirectly by a grooved cam',I-I,which operates saidlever. Thismethod .upon the driving-shaft I, which is disposed under the table, as seen in the drawings. Over the adjustable arrn D and the needle-carrier B, and arranged so as to move or slide freely within the top plate, K, of the table, is a feeding-bar, L, formed in top view as seen in Fi This feeding-bar'is to be provided with a long slot, 01, through which the needle passes during its passage toward andaway from the cloth or material to be sewed. The upper surface of this feeding-bar L, for some distance from its front end, may be provided with teeth or indentations, as seen at e c, it being understood that upon them the leather or material to be sewed is to rest during the operation of the needle, it' being forced or held down upon the said feeding-bar byapresser, M,'arranged as seen in the drawings, such presser being constructed and made to operate in the, ordinary way. Above the needle is an awl or piercer, N, which stands vertically and is inserted and fixed in the lower end of a carrier, 0, such carrier being moved upward and downward by suitable mechanism, or such as will cause the aWl to descend and puncture the material to be sewed previous to the upward passage of the needle through such material,

the needle being made topass upward through.

such hole made by the awl or piercer.

Thethread-carrier is seen at P, it being made to receive the thread Q from a bobbin, R, arranged as seen in the drawings. The lower end of the thread-carrier is bent as Seen in Fig. 2, and has a hole or passage, f, made down through it for the reception of the thread Q. This thread-carrier is to be so operated by aroundthe needle or in the hook of the needle,

(when the said hookstands above the cloth or material to be sewed,) and so as to enable the said needle during its next succeeding depres sion to draw the thread down through the clothin the form of a loop. \Vhile doing this the barb of the needle is made to stand in a direction toward the presser; but as soon as the barb has passed through the cloth the horizontal rotation of the needle commences to take place and continues during the further descent of the needle, such needle during such time making a semircvolntion, or thereabout. it is during the time that the needle is below the leather or material to be sewed that such material is moved the distance necessary for the pertormance of the succeeding stitch, such being effected by the feeding-bar L. During such movement. of the feedingbar, if the barb of a needle were allowed to stand ina direction toward the presser, (it being understood that such movement is inward toward the table,) it will readily be seen that the loopjust previously drawn down by the hook would be very likely to be pulled off the. barb; but if we re el-sc the position of the barb,or make it stand in an opposite direction, the loop will be supported on the shank of the needle and up against the barb, whereby it will be impossibleto draw it off from the needle. Now, were we to cause the barb of the needle to always stand in a direction away from the presser (it being understood that the cloth is fed forward transversely of the presser) during the vertical movements of the needle, it will readily be seen that 011 the descent of the needle through the cloth it would not be likely to draw the new loop throng] l the loop last formed and resting on the shank ot the needle, for this latter loop would unquestionably be drawn into the hook, so as to prevent its being discharged from the hook. The natural consequence of such would be a breakage of the thread.

As the mechanism for operating the presser, that for operating the awl or piercer, and that for operatin g the thread-carrier may be varied, and as I do not intend to claim any part of the same as my invention, I do not deem it necessary to go into any further description thereof.

The particular arrangement of the needle below the cloth or feeding bar L, in connection with the particular arrangement of the presser above the cloth or feeding bar, enables me to employ my machine to great advantage in the formation'of. sewing, as by it I am enabled to see the work on that side where the loops are drawn into it, and so as to enable me to guide the line of sewing in any proper man ner against an edge when such edge is under:

lapped by the under layer of cloth or material to be sewed. In order to explained myself more particularly, I would remark that my machine is especially adapted to the 'eonneetion of the vamp and quarter of a shoe where the quarter overlaps the vamp. here the needleworks above thetable and down through the cloth it is not conveniently adapted to the production of such work, as the finished side of the sewing, or that which is seen on the outside of the leather, would of necessity under such circumstances be hidden from the view of the attendant, thus renderingit exceedingly difiicult for him to direct the line of sewing parallel to the edge of the nnderlapping pieceof material. New, I am aware that in sew ing-machines operating with two needles and two threads, such threads being interlooped together, one needle must of necessity be placed on one side of the cloth or material to be sewed, while the other is placed on the other side of it. It must be borne in mind, however, that in these machines the needle is not made as a hook-needle, but has the thread carried through an eye made through it; also,

that these machines do not perform the single chain-stitch sewing with a single thread.

\Vhat I claim as my invention, therefore, is 1. The arrangement of a hook" or hookneedle underneath and so as to work up through the feeding-bar L, in combination with the a1 rangement of the presser M above the feeding-bar, and so as to press downward toward it, substantially in the manner as above de scribed, such enabling me to obtain an im portant advantage in operating by the single chain-stitch sewingqnachine.

2. In combination with the mechanism for giving the vertical movements to the needle, the slot to b c and the screw or pin 1*, (or me ehanical equivalents therefor,) for producing reciprocating semi-rotative movements of the needle during the vertical movement of it, substantially in the manner and for the purpose as above described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my signature this 30th day of November, A. .l 1853.

SIDNEY STEVENS TURNER.

Witnesses:

R. H. Ennv, F. P. HALE, Jr. 

